Artists

Project Description

Matt Moulthrop

Matt Moulthrop is a wood turner and son of Philip Moulthrop and grandson of Ed Moulthrop. Matt has followed in the stylistic tradition of his father and grandfather, using a lathe and hand-forged tools to turn logs into sculpture. He commonly uses trees native to the South to create his art – wild cherry, box elder, sycamore, white pine, red and silver maple.

The life of a tree is influenced by the world around it and growth rings tell the story. Within the first few years of life, a tree may experience severe drought or an overabundance of rain. Each of these events is recorded within the tree. Drought and disease, flooding and lack of sunlight, major weather events – all leave evidence behind in the form of ring spacing and coloration.

Matt interprets these stories through his art. He works with the wood, first by selecting the best pieces. Secondly, turning this piece on his lathe, he begins to unveil every growth ring, wormhole, and imperfection in the wood. The final step is capturing this story within a glass-like finish. His works of art are turned bowls in classical forms, leaving the simplicity and elegance of the piece to do the talking.

Matt explains his process: “Each piece I create is a unique experience for me. I endeavor to inject into each one a balance of color and form, shape and substance that fully displays the beauty and richness of the tree. Each tree has a story to tell. Wormholes convey past life, rings communicate growth, and certain colors indicate lightening or blight. My job is to tell the story, lengthening the life of the tree. My hope is to build a bridge between the natural and the artificial, by fusing the innate beauty of the material with a design that accentuates the splendor that is turned wood.”

Matt completed his B.A. at the University of Georgia and M.B.A. at Georgia Tech. His work can be found in the collections of the Smithsonian American Art Museum Renwick Gallery, the ASU Art Museum, The Carter Center, Georgia Institute of Technology, and the Racine Art Museum, among others.

Matt Moulthrop is a third generation wood turner and has spent his entire life surrounded by wood. As a young adult, he learned the artistry of woodturning comes not from the hand, but from the eye. Being able to “see” the shape of the bowl has been a legacy and a gift that he has worked to improve upon with his own vision and version of style, form, and texture. Moulthrop strives to blend both tradition and innovation by honoring his legacy and creating a new one.

Each piece he creates is a unique experience for both him as the maker and hopefully the viewer as well. His endeavor is to full display the beauty and richness of the tree and story it has to tell. Wormholes convey past life, rings communicate growth, and certain colors tell the story of death by lightning or blight. Moulthrop sees it as his job to tell the story, showing rather than talking, lengthening the life of the tree rather than ending it.

AZ Central: ‘Arizona Indigenous’ features glorious wood vesselsThe renowned Moulthrop family of wood artists turn their attention to the Sonoran Desert in Spring of 2015 at the Desert Botanical Gardens in Phoenix. As inhabitants of America’s swampy Southeast, the Moulthrops work primarily with their region’s plant life. In Arizona Indigenous, Philip and Matt Moulthrop unveil new saguaros, mesquite, and paloverde wood vessels.